The man appeared to climb out, happy to be free from the trunk, only to be handcuffed and taken into custody.

"He was saying sorry a lot and he was running away from someone that needed his money, because he didn't pay up or something. I guess he worked at the car wash too. He must have got in while they were washing it. He just closed the trunk on himself," Eddie Landeros said.

The family can laugh about the bizarre encounter now, but they say it was frightening as it was unfolding.

"Something you don't expect. Even the police officers said, 'This is a new one for us. We've never seen this one,'" Sal Landeros said.